Category Archives: Breakfast

My dad gave me this tiny pineapple for my birthday. It’s from the pineapple plant I gave him a while ago. Look how small it is – you could fit it in your pocket!

No, really, look how small it is:

It’s the same size as a strawberry! Hi-larious.

Dad suggested I put it on the blog, so here it is. I figured I should actually do something with it, other than put it next to a strawberry and giggle to myself. So, what does one do with a tiny pineapple? There aren’t too many options. I decided something pina colada adjacent would be good. And something quick. To my mind, the coconut pikelets were a stroke of genius. I’m sure I’m not the first person to have the idea, but I was particularly proud because they came out pretty well and I just used ingredients I had in the pantry. It always feels like an achievement when I make something that tastes good and I don’t have to leave the house for ingredients. (I’d like to say this is where the inspiration for the name Paddington pantry came from, but, sadly, I’m not that clever.)

I’m pretty proud of this. Almost as proud of myself as I was when I worked out how to take nachos to work for lunch. It’s not really a recipe, and it’s hardly revolutionary, it’s really just a great combination of ingredients. It’s also not very photogenic, specially with my limited photography skills and unwillingness to let my food get cold for the sake of a photo.

Cannellini beans, tomato and fetta on toast
If I use a whole tin of beans, this usually makes enough for two massive servings for me. I am greedy, so it could probably go further. It doesn’t really matter how much of each ingredient you use.

Put beans, tomatoes and fetta in a microwavable bowl. Pour over some of the oil from the fetta. Microwave for a couple of minutes. Mash the mixture a bit, just to combine all the ingredients. You could probably mash it a bit more if you wanted to make it into a dip. Squeeze over lemon juice and mix in salt and pepper to taste. Serve on toast – I recommend rye bread, if that’s the kind of thing you’re into.

I like to try to make things from scratch. Sometimes it’s so time consuming and/or expensive I decide it’s not worth it. Other times I realise it’s worth paying a professional to do it. Muesli, however, is totally worth making from scratch. It’s heaps cheaper than buying the fancy stuff I like and I can make it without those weird dried fruit cubes that are usually in muesli. And toasting it makes the house smell awesome.

I mix it all together, then pour prune juice (perhaps about a cup) and honey (I’d say… 1/4 cup) over it until it’s soaked through. I mix it again, usually just with my fingers, to make sure the honey is spread evenly.

Pop it in the oven, occasionally removing to stir so bits don’t stick to the bottom, until it’s golden brown. I think this takes about an hour.

Once I’ve taken it out of the oven and it’s cooled down, I add about 1/2 cup of dried cranberries.

I like to have my muesli with milk, yoghurt and berries. Especially frozen blueberries – they’re kind of like little scoops of sorbet.

I’ve been doing a detox of sorts. By ‘of sorts’, I mean it’s been a pretty relaxed detox. I haven’t been too committed to it, nor have I been prepared to give up tasty food. In all honesty, it’s not really a detox, so my housemate and I have renamed it ‘being more conscious about what you’re eating’. That’s not a cop out though, it’s just… being realistic. The detox so far has included alcohol, wheat, dairy, red meat and coffee. Oops. But the theory is that this kind of detox is more sustainable. That’s how I justify it anyway.

These pancakes reflect my attitude towards detoxing. They’re buckwheat (good), but I included sugar and wheat flour with them and served them with maple syrup and coffee (bad? whatever). At least I drew the line at having them with butter. And if it weren’t for these additions, I probably wouldn’t have eaten them. So surely that makes it ok? I did try without the wheat flour, but they were a bit sandy and I had to have them with Nutella so I could cope.

My camera has had a meltdown, so this photo from my phone is the best one I have. They looked like regular pancakes, only grey-ish brown. Appetising, no? This is how Saturday mornings look anyway – half finished breakfast, couch and TV remote (for flicking between the music video shows).